how an editor uncovered an AI journalist

When an editor at a local magazine in Toronto received a pitch from a promising new freelancer, he didn’t expect it to spiral into an obsessive investigation. What followed was a deep dive into a web of fake interviews, impossible bylines, and fake reporting. Dexter talks with Nicholas Hune-Brown to trace how he uncovered an AI journalist and what it reveals about journalism today. 

Got something you’re curious about? Hit us up killswitch@kaleidoscope.nyc, or @killswitchpod, or @dexdigi on IG or Bluesky.

Read: 

• “Investigating a Possible Scammer in Journalism’s AI Era”  https://thelocal.to/investigating-scam-journalism-ai/ 
• “The Fallout From Our AI Freelancer Investigation” https://thelocal.to/fallout-from-ai-freelancer-investigation/
• The Local’s recent issue, “The Cost of Care” https://thelocal.to/winter-2026/ 

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